US calls on its citizens to leave Venezuela amid escalating risks, surging detentions

The United States (US) State Department has issued a travel warning urging all American citizens in Venezuela to leave the country immediately, citing an alarming rise in wrongful detentions, civil unrest, and other severe threats to personal safety.

On Tuesday, the State Department declared Venezuela a Level 4- “Do Not Travel” destination, amid escalating risks such as terrorism, kidnapping, torture in detention, violent crime, and a near-total breakdown in legal protections. The US warned that American citizens, including dual nationals and those traveling on foreign passports are being detained arbitrarily and held without due process, sometimes for years and under brutal conditions.
“There is no US embassy or consulate presence in Venezuela, and we cannot provide emergency assistance,” the advisory warns, emphasising that even visits to family members put Americans and their relatives at risk of detention by Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The advisory notes Venezuela now holds more wrongfully detained US nationals than any other country in the world.
The US Government is calling on all citizens, including permanent residents, to depart Venezuela without delay and avoid all travel to the country under any circumstances.

“Dual citizenship, a Venezuelan visa, past travel to Venezuela, or a job in Venezuela does not protect US national travelers. Every American is at risk of being detained by Maduro’s regime. The US Department of State recommends that any US citizens in Venezuela leave immediately. Anyone with US citizenship or any other US residency status in Venezuela should leave the country immediately, including those traveling on Venezuelan or other foreign passports. Do not travel to Venezuela for any reason,” the statement from the US State Department said.
US Oil producer Chevron’s (CVX.N) licence to operate in Venezuela expired on May 27 as planned, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on his personal X account.
According to Reuters, prior to the US company’s licence to do business in the South American country being expired, most partners of Venezuela’s sanctioned state-run oil firm PDVSA requested extensions.

However, US President Donald Trump said in February he would revoke the licence issued by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago. Trump accused President Nicolás Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.
In fact, any extension would need to be approved by the US Treasury and State Departments. The State Department provides guidance for the Treasury to rule on any changes to sanction regimes.
Venezuela has some of the world’s largest reserves of oil, but its crude output remains at a fraction of what it was a decade ago after a lack of investment, alleged mismanagement at PDVSA and US sanctions on Venezuela’s energy industry since 2019. The licences to Chevron and other foreign firms in Venezuela have allowed a slight recovery in oil output and exports since 2023.
Maduro and his allies have cheered what they say is the country’s resilience and have blamed some economic hardships and shortages on sanctions.